Beneath a Steel Sky was first released on PC-DOS and Amiga (Anyone else remember that?) way back in 1994 and became an instant hit and a timeless classic (it even won a Golden Joystick in 1995). It combined interesting puzzles, witty commentary and dialog and a compelling story. But could it be successfully shrunk down to the size of the iPhone and maintain all the things that made it great the first time around?

The answer is yes. It’s still the same game with all the same features that made it great the first time it came round. With the power of the iPhone, compared to the power of old PCs we can probably expect to see a lot of classics pop up in a new form (see the Doom iPhone review) over the coming months and years. And why not? Some of these games were overlooked the first time around and deserve a second chance. Others were smash hits the first time and probably will be again as well.

In Beneath a Steel Sky you take on the role of Robert Foster who was lost when young and is taken in by indigenous Aussies until the day when people from the city come to take him back. Along with his robotic side-kick Joey you have to work your way through Union City and find out why you’re a person of interest and what exactly is going on.

The game is classic point-and-click but that would be relatively difficult on the touch screen of the iPhone since it’s so small right? No, not at all. Revolution, the game developer, did something that I wish many others would consider. When you hold your finger on the screen it lights up all the areas that have some way to interact. This is brilliant as it takes away the need to create a zoom to get a better view of what the environment holds. This is a great innovation and really makes the game much easier to play on the small touch screen. As you slide your finger around the screen items light up and show you the options you have.

I don’t know that I even need to mention the superb graphics of the game done by Dave Gibbons and even redone for the iPhone version yet still maintaining the original art style of the game. On top of that the sound is, while simple, still great. It’s a fantastic remake of a fantastic classic.